Venice Beach

Saturday Angela and I decided to do something fun. Her spring break was almost over and we'd mostly seen doctors' offices and Souplantation. So we decided to take a little road trip. First stop, CVS for Cokes, circus peanuts, and mixed nuts - essential road trip snacks! Second stop, gas up the car. Then we drove the 13 miles to Venice, CA. And yes, we finished all our snacks before we got there.

We chose Venice from our tour guide, Angela was intrigued by the canals which are fashioned after the canals in Venice, Italy. So away we went. We found parking in the city lot, literally feet from the Pacific Ocean (and only $7!), and went exploring. We walked along the beach for a while, through the sand, enjoying the sun and smiling at the bikers and roller bladers. (And loving the little girl who was sobbing over the fact that she no longer wanted to ride her bike.) We stopped to admire the art at Graffiti Park, this spot right on the beach where spray painters are encouraged to (legally) share their talents (permit required). Then we walked through some of the booths and tables. People selling Mexican pottery, dried sage, glitter bras with snake charms in the middle, naked skeleton paintings, anything and everything you could ever want from a beachside stand!

We saw Rastafarian children, Venice Beach's Official Wino begging for enough for another drink, lots of well-behaved dogs, a man in a teeny-tiny American flag Speedo, a man painted completely gold standing completely still with his gold painted stuffed dog, a guy getting a tattoo next to his eye, and Venice Beach's Official Pothead (yes, he had a pot on his head). Wow.

Then we wound our way through the city to the canals, which surprisingly, were pretty cool. The water doesn't look like anything I'd want to swim in but the greenery surrounding them was gorgeous. And it was so peaceful walking through the neighborhoods, surrounded by butterflies, flowers, and quiet. A stark contrast from the Beach, just a block west.

We walked through the Beach a little more, stopped to gawk at Muscle Beach where weightlifters really do workout right in the middle of everything, for everyone to see, and then decided that we'd head out. It was an experience, a crazy, people-filled, loud, colorful, experience!